Toys are often designed to have play value by using a rapidly spinning flywheel to achieve a gyroscopic effect. Examples of earlier issued patents and published application are identified below.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,098,895 for a “Toy” issued in 1914 to Edgar purports to disclose a small figure having a flywheel located in the middle of the figure. The figure has an extend toe, a support point on its head and a surface on a hand, any of which are able to support and balance the figure and have it revolve when the flywheel is rotated at high speed. U.S. Pat. No. 1,594,649 for a “Skipping Toy” issued in 1926 to Trautmann purports to disclose a doll having an internal gyroscope and extended arms holding a skipping rope. Spinning the gyroscope allows the arms of the doll to move and the doll to travel along a surface or wire. Another U.S. Pat. No. 2,148,374 for a “Toy” issued in 1939 to Hogan, also purports to disclose a doll with an internal gyroscope able to perform head-up and head-down simulating ice-skating or tightrope walking.
A year later U.S. Pat. No. 2,195,083 for a “Toy Dancing Figure” issued to Einfalt, and purports to disclose a toy ballet dancer with an internally located gyroscope. The gyroscope is activated by a toothed rack, which engages a pinion attached to the shaft of the gyroscope. Four years later U.S. Pat. No. 2,364,117 for a “Gyroscopic Toy” issued to Wigal, and purports to also disclose a toy figure with an internally located gyroscope. The gyroscope is driven and controlled by motor, such as spring type mechanical motor or an electric motor that acts as a speed regulator. U.S. Pat. No. 2,736,132 for a “Gyroscopic Figure Toy” issued in 1956 to Murray purports to disclose yet another toy figure with an internally located gyroscope. The toy figure includes points and grooves at the head, the legs and the arms so that the figure may be balanced on a flat surface or a string at any of the points and grooves.
In 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,039 for a “Gyroscopic Toy” issued to Wong, and purports to disclose a toy top with an internally located, battery driven gyroscope. The top contains noise generators and flashing lights controlled by a centrifugally activated switch. U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,845 for a “Mobile, Gyroscopically Stabilized Toy With Controlled Multi-Action Movements” issued in 1998 to O'Berrigan, and purports to disclose a toy with an internally located gyroscopic that may be battery operated and with mechanical linkages, also battery operated, that provide for motion of the toy and for body and appendages movement. U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,745 for a “Gyroscopic Figurine” issued in 1999 to Johnson purports to disclose a toy figurine with an internally located motor driven gyroscope that is slightly offset to cause the figurine to vibrate or wobble for enhancing a skating effect on a flat surface on which the figurine is placed.
In 2004 U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,476 for “Gyroscope Figures” issued to Lund and Starrick, and purports to disclose a toy figures each with an internally located gyroscope that is manually rotated by a flexible rack gear. The figures each have predetermined apertures that mate with posts on toy vehicles, such as a skateboard, a mountain board, a scooter, a bicycle and a car. Once a figure is attached to a vehicle and a user operating the flexible rack gear energizes the gyroscope in the figure, the vehicle is balanced and stabilized such that the vehicle may be moved in a specific direction. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0292962 for a “Toy Figure With Gyroscopic Element” published in 2006, and listing Takeyasu, Strauss and Montalvo as inventors, purports to disclose a toy figure with an internally located gyroscope that is rotated by a pull string that rewinds automatically. U.S. Pat. No. 7,740,518 for a “Jousting Toy” issued in 2010 to Elliott purports to disclose rotatable toy devices each having a cylindrical body, and each with an internally located gyroscope that is rotated by a pull cord or a string. Each device may have two curvilinear arms and two loops. In a jousting game opposing players launch their spinning devices toward each other and points are gained when an arm of one device engages a loop of an opponent's device.
These Patents and Devices are of Interest, However, they do not Disclose or illustrate the toy apparatus disclosed herein below.